Philippians 4:1-20 – The Roots of A Reaching Gospel
1 Therefore, my beloved and longed-for brethren, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, beloved.
2 I implore Euodia and I implore Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. 3 And I urge you also, true companion, help these women who labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the Book of Life.
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!
5 Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. 9 The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.
10 But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last your care for me has flourished again; though you surely did care, but you lacked opportunity. 11 Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: 12 I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. 13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
14 Nevertheless you have done well that you shared in my distress. 15 Now you Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church shared with me concerning giving and receiving but you only. 16 For even in Thessalonica you sent aid once and again for my necessities. 17 Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that abounds to your account. 18 Indeed I have all and abound. I am full, having received from Epaphroditus the things sent from you, a sweet-smelling aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God. 19 And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. 20 Now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.
In CS Lewis's The Screwtape Letters, the senior demon keeps tutoring his nephew in the practice of distracting humans. One of his tactics is to keep us ignoring the good we can do this right in front of us in favor of theoretical projections of what we can do in the world in general.
Philippians 4 offers good ammunition for a counterattack. Paul will mention beginning in Philippians 4:10 the value of what the Philippian church is doing in sending him money, but the Holy Spirit would not have this act of distant generosity rootless. He would not have them, or us, able to reason that righteousness has been fulfilled by sending a check afar off.
Paul's root system of real heart submission and change is intricate and well grounded in local soil. Stand where you are, he charges in Philippians 4:1, similar to the same bolstering of Timothy in 1 Timothy 1. Philippians, and two Philippians in particular, urges Philippians 4:2, SHOW Christ paramount in your relationship with each other on a daily basis. Support that effort, joins Philippians 4:3, Christians, within Philippi. This is of a piece with the most entrepreneurial missions efforts.
If the church to which he is writing, Paul is sure, cultivates the habit of rejoicing among themselves as he urges in Philippians 4:4 in a way that does not depend on changes in circumstances, the reality of grace intertwined in the community's reputation will already be a beacon to surrounding areas according to the glow of Philippians 4:5.
Catch that. Paul the boundary-pushing missionary who will ask for their support in far-flung endeavors says missions is already going on in the qualities these church members show in their relationships.
If this were an act for the purposes of a Christ commercial, Paul knows human nature well enough to know he would need to allow for time off stage. Not so. When provocations to anxiety come, there's already an app for that according to the provision of Philippians 4:6. That is, this is the time for the application of perseverance and prayer. The pricks of anxiety, then, are not the exception to a contagious, communal testimony.
Instead, instances of anxiety wherein we, by grace, develop the discipline not to BE anxious are opportunities to draw deeper into a relationship with Christ and to prove Him Prince of Peace indeed. It is emerging from the prayer closet after we have been driven there by a sense that provision is not apparent in the moment, say this verse and many psalms, that we prove His transformative power in a compelling way. Identified worship fully, personally, with Him again, His reputation overarching, Philippians 4:7 imputes it is Christ's responsibility to guard that heart and mind.
What happens when we become familiar with the Holy Spirit as vigilant Guard of our hearts and minds, sensing Him more often than we credit our own discipline or maturity? What we think on changes.
Our innermost mission field, the battle of the heart, becomes the place of marking off some of Christ's sweetest and most sweeping victories. The Gospel He would convey THROUGH us, whether to fellow congregants or to mission fields far away, a pastor friend of mine reminds me, He first applies TO us.
He gives us a mental and emotional larder full of His bounty, inventories Philippians 4:8, to draw from to feed our minds, our hearts, and our spirits in place of the fodder of anxiety or ego-driven disputes. Because of His close-up victories in our recent memory, we have plenty that is pure, lovely, and just to think about.
Whenever we are tempted to use our local relationships or the goods entrusted to us to placate our flesh instead of advance His glory, by Christ's tangible grace, there is always a better alternative on which to focus. As we see Christ proven in our family and in our Philippi, as our testimony radiates into the suburbs of our tangential relationships, we will want to see what concerns us used for frontier kingdom work like Paul's.
In fact, extends Paul's reminder in Philippians 4:9 of seasons of intimate acquaintance even with those who now work in Christ's vineyard far away, His glory observed and enjoyed in close quarters gives a sense of continuity with the battle He now allows us to join in places we may never visit. Maybe we will pray more persistently for social media friends if we can recall times face-to-face. Maybe we will give to the work of missionaries we never meet because we have seen similar principles at work in the lives of people with whom we are closest.
2 I implore Euodia and I implore Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. 3 And I urge you also, true companion, help these women who labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the Book of Life.
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!
5 Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. 9 The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.
10 But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last your care for me has flourished again; though you surely did care, but you lacked opportunity. 11 Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: 12 I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. 13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
14 Nevertheless you have done well that you shared in my distress. 15 Now you Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church shared with me concerning giving and receiving but you only. 16 For even in Thessalonica you sent aid once and again for my necessities. 17 Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that abounds to your account. 18 Indeed I have all and abound. I am full, having received from Epaphroditus the things sent from you, a sweet-smelling aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God. 19 And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. 20 Now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.
In CS Lewis's The Screwtape Letters, the senior demon keeps tutoring his nephew in the practice of distracting humans. One of his tactics is to keep us ignoring the good we can do this right in front of us in favor of theoretical projections of what we can do in the world in general.
Philippians 4 offers good ammunition for a counterattack. Paul will mention beginning in Philippians 4:10 the value of what the Philippian church is doing in sending him money, but the Holy Spirit would not have this act of distant generosity rootless. He would not have them, or us, able to reason that righteousness has been fulfilled by sending a check afar off.
Paul's root system of real heart submission and change is intricate and well grounded in local soil. Stand where you are, he charges in Philippians 4:1, similar to the same bolstering of Timothy in 1 Timothy 1. Philippians, and two Philippians in particular, urges Philippians 4:2, SHOW Christ paramount in your relationship with each other on a daily basis. Support that effort, joins Philippians 4:3, Christians, within Philippi. This is of a piece with the most entrepreneurial missions efforts.
If the church to which he is writing, Paul is sure, cultivates the habit of rejoicing among themselves as he urges in Philippians 4:4 in a way that does not depend on changes in circumstances, the reality of grace intertwined in the community's reputation will already be a beacon to surrounding areas according to the glow of Philippians 4:5.
Catch that. Paul the boundary-pushing missionary who will ask for their support in far-flung endeavors says missions is already going on in the qualities these church members show in their relationships.
If this were an act for the purposes of a Christ commercial, Paul knows human nature well enough to know he would need to allow for time off stage. Not so. When provocations to anxiety come, there's already an app for that according to the provision of Philippians 4:6. That is, this is the time for the application of perseverance and prayer. The pricks of anxiety, then, are not the exception to a contagious, communal testimony.
Instead, instances of anxiety wherein we, by grace, develop the discipline not to BE anxious are opportunities to draw deeper into a relationship with Christ and to prove Him Prince of Peace indeed. It is emerging from the prayer closet after we have been driven there by a sense that provision is not apparent in the moment, say this verse and many psalms, that we prove His transformative power in a compelling way. Identified worship fully, personally, with Him again, His reputation overarching, Philippians 4:7 imputes it is Christ's responsibility to guard that heart and mind.
What happens when we become familiar with the Holy Spirit as vigilant Guard of our hearts and minds, sensing Him more often than we credit our own discipline or maturity? What we think on changes.
Our innermost mission field, the battle of the heart, becomes the place of marking off some of Christ's sweetest and most sweeping victories. The Gospel He would convey THROUGH us, whether to fellow congregants or to mission fields far away, a pastor friend of mine reminds me, He first applies TO us.
He gives us a mental and emotional larder full of His bounty, inventories Philippians 4:8, to draw from to feed our minds, our hearts, and our spirits in place of the fodder of anxiety or ego-driven disputes. Because of His close-up victories in our recent memory, we have plenty that is pure, lovely, and just to think about.
Whenever we are tempted to use our local relationships or the goods entrusted to us to placate our flesh instead of advance His glory, by Christ's tangible grace, there is always a better alternative on which to focus. As we see Christ proven in our family and in our Philippi, as our testimony radiates into the suburbs of our tangential relationships, we will want to see what concerns us used for frontier kingdom work like Paul's.
In fact, extends Paul's reminder in Philippians 4:9 of seasons of intimate acquaintance even with those who now work in Christ's vineyard far away, His glory observed and enjoyed in close quarters gives a sense of continuity with the battle He now allows us to join in places we may never visit. Maybe we will pray more persistently for social media friends if we can recall times face-to-face. Maybe we will give to the work of missionaries we never meet because we have seen similar principles at work in the lives of people with whom we are closest.
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